[Runes of Argyl 01.0] The Runes of Argyl Trilogy

by Jessica Savage

  “It’s almost like this is the only place on earth, don’t you think?” Finn whispered.

  Chloe nodded and turned to look at him. As he pulled her closer to him she had an overwhelming sense of unreality.

  “Where did you come from?” she whispered as he ran a hand through her hair.

  He kissed her deeply and hard, and it was so powerful it almost took her breath away. As she entwined herself with him she couldn’t believe how fast she was falling for him and how natural it felt. It was as if this was always meant to happen and they had both just had to find their way to this point in time.

  Finn smiled at her and kissed her lightly on the forehead.

  “Come on,” he said. “I don’t want to keep you out, up here in these dangerous mountains,” he joked, obviously mocking the bartender from the night before. Chloe laughed and slipped her hand into his as they walked together back down the hill.

  “How long will you stay for?” she asked him as they began to approach the square.

  “I’m not sure,” Finn shrugged. “Probably until after the holidays.”

  “Me too,” Chloe beamed. She was glad that he wasn’t going to be disappearing on her any time soon.

  He led her towards the bar and as they stepped inside they chose to take a quiet table in the corner next to one of the roaring fires and cuddled up on one of the big cozy couches.

  Finn ordered them a bottle of red wine and poured it for them both before relaxing back into the cushions and pulling Chloe close to him. If the room had been quieter, it could almost have been as if they were an established couple, relaxing at home on an evening in front of the fire. Chloe closed her eyes and imagined it and smiled.

  They were wrapped up in each other’s arms, kissing and exploring each other without offending everyone else in the bar when Chloe felt her cellphone vibrating in her back pocket. She ignored it at first, but when it started to go off for what must have been the fifth time she apologized to Finn and excused herself from the table.

  “Mom?” she said as she pressed answer.

  “Chloe,” her mom panted hurriedly. “Where are you?”

  “I’m in the square, at one of the bars… what’s the matter?” She could sense the angst in her Mom’s voice and knew immediately that something was wrong.

  “Who are you with?” her Mom asked.

  “Mom! What is going on?” Now Chloe was really panicking.

  “Listen to me carefully, whatever you’re doing, leave it and walk out of their casually. If you’re with someone, just excuse yourself and say you need to get an early night. Hurry back. Right now!”

  Before Chloe had a chance to respond, the line went dead.

  She knew that something had been happening with her family, and now she had the feeling she was about to find out the truth. She turned on her heel and trying to keep her hands from shaking she walked back to Finn and apologized.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said trying to act as normal as possible. “That was my mom, she’s not feeling well and she needs me to head back.”

  Finn raised his eyebrows and looked concerned.

  “Is everything okay?” he asked as he got to his feet.

  Chloe nodded and leaned in and gave him a kiss.

  “Honestly, everything’s fine,” she smiled.

  She turned and quickly walked out of the bar, not looking back over her shoulder even though he had called her name.

  She had to get back to the cabin. Something terrible was happening… she could feel it.

  9.

  In her panic her feet slipped on the ice as she tried to navigate the pathways back up to the lodge. The darkness seemed thicker and as her heart raced, her hands shook and her mind became clouded with confusion. She was in such a rush she realized that suddenly she didn’t recognize the path, and the forest seemed thicker and appeared to be looming over her. She heard the snap of a twig behind her and she shivered as she realized that she must have taken a wrong turn… she definitely wasn’t on the right path back to the lodge.

  She was about to go back and try to find the right way when suddenly out of the darkness ahead of her, she was aware of a figure emerging… a flashlight clasped in their hands which they shone up into her eyes.

  “Chloe,” the voice said sternly… and it sent a chill right down her spine.

  She would know that voice anywhere…

  It was Damon.

  Chloe brought her hands up to shield her eyes and blinked as she tried to see past the harsh glare of the flashlight, but as soon as she was able to focus, she immediately wished that she hadn’t… because in his hand, Damon was holding a gun. And he had it pointed right at her.

  Her whole body was frozen to the spot and she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Damon was there… and he was going to harm her. She felt her body tremble and she wanted to speak, but she couldn’t find the words.

  “Hold your hands up,” Damon said coldly. “Hold them out in front of you and cross them at the wrists. In a minute I’m going to tie them and then you’re going to come with me.”

  “Damon…” she stammered, “What is happening? What are you doing?”

  “Oh for God’s sake Chlo,” he spat, “Isn’t it obvious?”

  Her mind raced to try and make sense of it all, but she was coming up with nothing.

  “You didn’t think I was with you because I was into you did you?” he snorted. “As if… I was only with you to get information about your father and his businesses… and now I know a hell of a lot that I can use to my advantage.”

  None of it made any sense.

  “Your dad’s not really away on business you fool!” he laughed. “He got wind of my little plan to kidnap you and use you for ransom… so he sent you here thinking I wouldn’t be able to get to you… Ha! How he underestimated me.”

  Chloe’s mind almost exploded… Damon had used her… and was going to kidnap her to extort money…? This was almost too unbelievable for words.

  “So get down on the ground and hold up your hands, I have a van waiting and I’m already half frozen!” He spat.

  Trembling, Chloe got onto her knees and just when she was about to resign herself to whatever fate Damon had in store for her, she looked up into his eyes and realized he had a look of sheer terror spreading out across his face.

  He was looking at something behind her and she could tell that he was frightened. When she turned to look around, roaming proudly and fiercely out of the snowcapped trees behind them was the biggest and purest white bear she had ever seen.

  It stood up on its haunches and lunged forward in a snarl of teeth and claws. Chloe screamed and covered her eyes, but couldn’t help but peek through her fingers as she watched the majestic beast launch itself at Damon and pin him to the ground.

  The bear was huge… she had never seen anything so incredible, but also so out of place. It was like a polar bear, something so beautiful and unique in that little resort in Colorado… none of it made sense!

  The bear clamped its jaws around Damon’s leg and began to drag him ferociously into the woods and out of sight. Chloe couldn’t see what was happening, but she could guess from the wailing and snarling that it wasn’t going to be anything good. She got to her feet and went to run but then was aware of a silence that pierced through the forest.

  The screaming had stopped.

  She turned on her heel and peered behind her, into the darkness, and she could see the outline of the great hulking bear coming slowly towards her. She was rooted to the spot with fear and as she shook with terror she made a silent prayer that it wouldn’t harm her.

  Please, she thought, please don’t hurt me.

  The bear came towards her and stopped about two feet away from her. It looked at her deep in the eyes and she felt herself falling into a trance. The eyes were so familiar… she knew she had looked into them before. Her heart started to pound as she realized what was happening… She knew who’s eyes they were…

  They were Fi
nn’s.

  “Finn?” she whispered as she moved closer to the bear and held out her hand.

  The bear rose onto its hind legs and roared up towards the moon. It was so deafening she clamped her hands down over her ears and whimpered with fear. But when she looked up the bear was looking at her tenderly and she knew in that moment that she was right.

  In a flash of white fur and rippling muscle, the beast in front of her turned from majestic animal to handsome human, and as Finn stood in front of her, completely naked and covered in sweat and streaks of blood and snow she felt something trigger inside of her that she had never felt before.

  She was speechless… but all she wanted was for him to come for her and to strip her naked. She held her breath and watched the rise and fall of his chest as he caught his breath.

  “Take me,” she whispered.

  Finn lunged at her through the dark and pulled her close to him. As he tore at her clothes she had never been at someone’s mercy so much in her entire life, but it had never felt so right. This man, this beast, this powerful creature, had chosen her. He had protected her and saved her from Damon, and now she had seen him shift back to his incredible human form and he was going to devour her in his own way right there on the forest floor, in the snow and under the moon.

  As he thrust his powerful unsheathed cock inside of her warm folds Chloe moaned with ecstasy and gripped onto him with all of the strength she had. She wrapped her legs around him and opened up fully to him as he pumped in and out of her and she knew she wouldn’t be able to hold on for long before she unraveled in a wave of pleasure.

  As she came she screamed up at the stars, savoring every second of a pleasure she had longed for and needed for so very long. As Finn felt her pussy quiver around him he too exploded and emptied his hot, thick load inside of her and collapsed down onto her chest.

  She had been claimed. She was now his and she wanted to be his mate for life. She knew in that moment that she would do anything for him. She wanted to give Finn everything.

  He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her lightly on the forehead. She shivered but it wasn’t because of the cold. The reality of what had happened with Damon came flooding back and the panic set in.

  “My mom!” she said as she sat up and grabbed at her clothes, pulling them around her.

  “It’s okay,” Finn soothed. “She’s safe.”

  Chloe looked down at him as he traced his rough hands across her soft, smooth, plump skin.

  “How do you know?” Chloe was so confused.

  “Because…” Finn began… “I was sent here to protect you…”

  She looked down at him and took his hand in hers.

  “Your father sent you here like Damon said… but he’s no fool Chloe… he hired me to make sure you and your family were safe.”

  “What?” she couldn’t believe it.

  “My military background… special ops… He hired me to take care of any problems should they arise and keep an eye on you all… And good job, hey?” he winked.

  Chloe couldn’t believe what she was hearing. He’d been hired?

  “So this?” she said as she wrapped her coat around her chest… “I take it this was part of the job description?”

  Finn laughed and shook his head.

  “Chloe, the last thing I bargained for when I took this job was that I’d fall for the girl I’m supposed to be protecting.”

  All of the anger and confusion she had started to feel quickly evaporated. Finn was falling for her. And she certainly knew that she had fallen for him.

  “White bears, Polars, shifters… whatever you want to call us… we know when we find the one,” he smiled.

  He took Chloe’s hand in his and kissed it softly.

  She had never been so happy in her entire life.

  “Come on,” he said as he helped her get dressed and then began his walk back to the woods to find his clothes. “I better get you back to the lodge, your father is on his way.”

  As they left the woods and walked back across the mountain Chloe couldn’t believe how much her life had changed in the space of a few days. She had lost one boyfriend, but gained something much more… she had found her mate for life. There were only a few days to go until the holidays and now she had Finn she knew it was going to be the most special Christmas she had ever had. What could be more incredible than spending it out at their log cabin in Colorado with her wonderful family and the man of her dreams?

  They held hands and walked into the night, as the moon shone brightly above and the sky seemed to jingle with stars…

  Happy Holidays, Chloe thought.

  THE END

  Lynx

  A Forsaken Riders Standalone MC Romance

  Book 2

  Samantha Leal

  Copyright ©2015 by Samantha Leal. All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Table of Contents

  1.

  2.

  3.

  4.

  5.

  6.

  7.

  8.

  9.

  10.

  1.

  Tammy checked her rearview mirror as she started the engine and sighed. It was the time of day she hated more than anything, the beginning of her night shift, when she had to leave the comfort of her cute little home and get herself to work. The diner wasn’t exactly a hard place to earn a living, but she still resented having to be up late when the majority of people she knew were out having fun and being young, when Tammy was slaving over a hot stove and making small talk with truckers.

  “Just eight hours to go,” she said to herself with a laugh as she backed out of her driveway and swung out into the street.

  She turned on her lights and crawled along slowly, delaying the inevitable. She often thought about putting her foot down on the gas and just driving into the night. It was one of her favorite fantasies…

  What if one day I just disappeared and never came back?

  At the beginning of every night shift, the same thought crossed her mind. She imagined flying down the highway with her window open and the wind in her hair, the music turned up loud and her heart running free, but she knew it would never happen. Slate Springs was her home and always had been. Everyone she had ever known and loved was in that town, and she wasn’t about to desert them now, even if her future did seem pretty bleak without a significant other.

  She drummed her nails on the edge of the steering wheel and accelerated.

  “May as well get there and start earning those much needed tips,” she said as she clicked her tongue against her teeth.

  She knew it was likely to be a slow night, but she may as well give it all she had and get what she could. For a good girl like her, it was the only place in town to make an honest living. Tammy was humble and had learned from the best. Her father was a regular fixture in the community with their family’s hardware store that had been supplying Slate Springs for generations. She easily could have drifted into there and became a manager, but she had wanted to get out on her own and do something different with her life. Even if that just meant being a waitress at the local diner working for minimum wage. Plus, when it came to the store, her brother Dean seemed to have it covered. He and her father had the brains and the brawn to run the place. Tammy only would have been in their way.

  As she turned a corner and merged onto the freeway, a roar came out of the dark behind her. Tammy felt her stomach clench and her heart race as she realized it was them…

  One by one, motorcycles started to growl quickly beside her. She smiled and watched them as they weaved around the road and left the scent of gasoline hanging in the air. Her heart fluttered just at the sight of them. Those men were bad to the bone, but she also knew they were some of the sexiest she
had ever seen. They didn’t regularly come into the diner, but recently a small group of them had stopped by and she got a good look at them for the first time in her life. They were young, strong, and lawless, and even in the dark she could see the bulges of their muscles rippling down their arms as they gripped onto the handlebars of their Harleys.

  “Yikes,” Tammy breathed out as she fanned her neck with her hand. “Forbidden fruit.”

  She smiled to herself. She was so straight-laced and conservative, the mere thought of her hooking up with a man like that was laughable. Yet ever since her friend Lexi had started dating one of The Forsaken Riders, it was all she could think about.

  Tammy and her friends had always done their best to stay away, but suddenly the secret world of Slate Spring’s only Motorcycle Club had been thrust into Tammy’s path without her even asking for it. Lexi, her best friend, was recently fired from her job at Red X, the local strip club, and found herself taken in by one of the bikers and offered a new job at their bar, The Bleeding Bullet. She would never admit that she was jealous of Lexi. Tammy only wanted the best for her friend and would always support her, but she kind of envied the way she had been seduced by King… He was strong, masculine, and instantly devoted to her. It was the sort of relationship that Tammy had always craved but knew she would probably never find.

  As she watched the bikers disappear into the darkness ahead of her, she bit her lip and smiled. Now that she had her link to them, who knew what could happen…?

  ***

  As she parked outside the diner and turned off the engine, she could see through the windows that it was busier than normal for a Thursday evening. She pushed open the driver’s door and stepped out onto the dusty ground. The air was still hot and thick, even though the sun had been down for hours. As she walked towards the steps, the sweat started to prickle up on the back of her neck.